Alimbeg Bestaev

Alimbeg Bestaev

File:Alimbeg Bestayev 1956.jpg Bestaev at the 1956 Olympics
Personal information
Born	15 August 1936 Tskhinvali, Georgia
Died	1988 (aged 51–52) Moscow, Russia
Sport
Sport	Freestyle wrestling
Medal record Representing the Soviet Union Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne 67 kg World Championships Gold medal – first place 1957 Istanbul 67 kg World Cup Gold medal – first place 1956 Istanbul 67 kg

Alimbeg Borisovich Bestaev (Russian: Алимбег Борисович Бестаев, 15 August 1936 – 1988) was an Ossetian lightweight freestyle wrestler. Competing for the Soviet Union, he won the world title in 1957 and an Olympic bronze medal in 1956. He also won the 1956 World Cup, pinning all five of his opponents within 20 minutes of each other's overall time spent on the mat and winning the outstanding wrestler award of the tournament, regardless of style or weight class.

Bestaev was born in South Ossetia and first trained in the Georgian style of wrestling, chidaoba. He took up traditional wrestling in 1951 when his family moved to Vladikavkaz. He won his only Soviet title in 1955 and placed second in 1956. In 1956, he won the World Cup and was selected for the 1956 Olympics. At the Olympics, he won his first three bouts by fall but then lost to Gyula Tóth and Emam-Ali Habibi. He retired after placing second at the 1962 Soviet Championships to become a wrestling coach in Moscow.